Penrose, CO, Sept. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As a business that places its utmost value in customer relationships, True Value Trailers and Dealer Spike have a lot in common. Just like General Manager Chris Walkinshaw prides himself on the loyal customers who will travel far to buy from his dealership, Dealer Spike strives to offer the superior customer experience as the new digital marketing provider for True Value Trailers.
The Penrose, Colorado-based company was founded by Jim and Carol Fontana in 1979. The business began as a hardware store called Coast to Coast Hardware in Leadville, Colorado, and that is where they stayed for nearly a decade. Following a three-year move to California, the family ended up in Canon City, Colorado. There, the business expanded their inventory to include trailers at the request of Carol, who wanted to try something new outside of hardware. In 1996 Carol was attending her first dealer meeting along with her daughter Jeanne – by 1997 the two were earning awards in every category. Jeanne Garoutte is the current owner of True Value Trailers, along with her husband Bill.
The lot in Canon City was relatively small, with a limited amount of space to house trailers. The business moved to its current Penrose location in 2005 and the larger facility with a 15-acre lot created the opportunity to branch out into different types of trailers. In addition, the current location has a 3-bay repair shop with five techs on staff. The dealership employs sixteen staff members and has somewhere around $3 million in trailer inventory, as estimated by Walkinshaw.
“More than anything we want to create relationships,” Walkinshaw explains of the company culture at his dealership. As the service manager for several years before becoming General Manager, Walkinshaw had customers who would only visit True Value Trailers and traveled from out of state for trailer service. “Everyone here, from the owners down, enjoys what they do and that really translates to the customers,” Walkinshaw says. “I believe that’s why we’re as successful as we are.”
Walkinshaw calls his dealership website “extremely important” to the business. “We are actually in the process of moving away from methods like TV advertising…we’re going more digital,” he says. “Personally, I don’t think I know anybody who doesn’t do online research before they buy. You need a website that’s easy to navigate and has a ton of information.”
Prior to True Value Trailers’ partnership with Dealer Spike, the dealership worked with web provider Trailer Central. Walkinshaw calls the decision to switch “very easy,” and the team did so in February of 2018. “I wanted something current and easier to use…the amount of time it took us to get trailer information and images on the old site was just a nightmare.”
Walkinshaw also applauds the Dealer Spike team for a “fantastic experience” so far. “My Client Solutions representative takes great care of me. With our last website we would try for two or three days to get ahold of our rep with no response. Now I have someone who gets back to me quickly and really cares about what I’m working on,” he explains.
Beyond the improved user experience, True Value Trailers has seen truly impressive results come out of the new site. With a 93% average monthly increase compared to the past provider, Walkinshaw says the new site as well as the additional digital marketing services the team has applied give his dealership a “huge step up.”
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) have contributed to the increase in leads. “I can see that it’s working,” Walkinshaw says, noting his appreciation of the monthly reports he receives on these add-on services. Walkinshaw says he is glad to hand these tasks off to his web provider, rather than taking additional time out of his day to focus on it himself.
With his dealership’s bottom line in mind, Walkinshaw has no regrets about switching to Dealer Spike for his business’ digital marketing needs. “Anyone who wants a website that will actually work and that customers will use should switch to Dealer Spike,” he says.
ABOUT TRUE VALUE TRAILERS
Family-owned since 1978, True Value Trailers is proud to carry a large selection of new and pre-owned trailer and power equipment inventory. Centrally located near Pueblo City, Canon City, and Colorado Springs, the Penrose, CO-based dealership is proud to serve all trailer needs.
https://www.truevaluetrailers.com/
ABOUT DEALER SPIKE
Dealer Spike is focused on driving online leads and in-store sales for dealerships in eight industries. The company provides powerful and distinctive web solutions and tools to thousands of dealers worldwide. Dealer Spike’s expertise comes from real-world dealership experience and a passion for listening and responding to dealers’ needs.
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